Poet Laureate Patia presented a six-month report to the St. Louis City Poet Laureate Task Force, outlining programming accomplishments and stressing that the biggest immediate challenge is funding to compensate artists and expand civic engagement.

Patia told the task force that, while she understood the position is unpaid, ‘‘the biggest one really is the funding piece’’ and that artists and organizations ‘‘still need money.’’ She described a range of programming across education and visual arts and said she is exploring alternatives to direct payments, including in‑kind donations of space and barter arrangements. Patia also noted ongoing work with an international program, the Scottish Partnership for Arts and Education, and emphasized the need to better link the poet laureate role with city initiatives so the office can reach youth and civic audiences.

Members asked Patia for more operational detail to support future funding requests, such as workshop locations, attendance counts and measurable reach. Several members suggested concrete next steps: brief appearances at local fundraisers and public‑art unveilings, introductions to Saint Louis Community College faculty for programming connections, and a shared calendar of civic events so the poet laureate can be plugged into existing initiatives. One member said she would initiate an email introduction to college creative‑writing instructors and another offered to flag upcoming public‑art unveilings.

Why it matters: Task force members framed the poet laureate role as a bridge between arts and civic life, and they said sustaining that bridge will likely require a combination of small grants, institutional partnerships and in‑kind support. Members emphasized being respectful of the poet laureate’s unpaid status while expanding opportunities for paid collaborations when possible.

Next steps: The task force agreed to table several work‑stream updates to the next meeting, create introductions to college and community partners, and plan an onboarding meet‑and‑greet once the two newly appointed members join. Patia and staff will follow up on reported data points to strengthen future funding proposals.